Hyatt Hotels boss Robert Dawson said hotel occupancy rates could come close to achieving 2019 levels by the end of 2022 as it prepared to open a new hotel in Melbourne.
The opening of Australia’s international border to all vaccinated travellers later this month could lift hotel occupancy rates to around 70 per cent by the end of the year, according to Hyatt Hotels regional boss Robert Dawson.
That increase would represent a significant improvement on occupancy rates below 50 per cent recorded in Sydney and Melbourne over December 2021, though still well below the 80 per cent average occupancy rate achieved by hotel operators before the pandemic.
“Welcoming back international tourists will benefit our cities, regions and local businesses, supporting the livelihoods of over 600,000 people employed by our sector,” Ms Derry said. The new hotel, which takes Hyatt’s presence in Australia to 10 hotels includes Archie’s Farm RestaurantBar, named after Archie Spooner who built the family’s vast fortune through boats it built and tested on the estate’s 32 ha man-made lake. There’s also a 201 sq m event space with capacity for 150 people, a fitness centre and bar.